"If I had to redo it, I would hire you again in a heartbeat."
Jesse Sawyer
DS Custom Built, Eugene, OR
Kitchen remodeler, Eugene, OR
How a two-man kitchen crew sold close to $300,000 in about four months
Jesse runs DS Custom Built in Eugene, Oregon. It's him and one other guy. He started with us in June.
In September we recorded a call with him. Watch it below, or read what he told us.
- About 43 in-home appointments
- 13 jobs sold
- Booked to the end of December
Watch the call with Jesse
The call runs about 15 minutes. Jesse talks about how he started, what he changed and what he would tell other contractors.
Who Jesse is
Jesse has done construction pretty much his whole life. Early that year, he went out on his own. DS Custom Built is in Eugene, in Lane County, Oregon.
Most of the work is kitchen remodeling, plus bathrooms and general construction. Jesse told us he does the estimating, the bidding, the material pickup and the billing himself.
His first six months brought in about $30,000 to $40,000, mostly from word of mouth. He didn't expect much more. He was still sorting out his licensing and advertising.
Why he was skeptical
Before us, Jesse had never worked with a marketing agency. He talked with several and passed on all of them. He was very skeptical of us too. In his words, starting with us was "a hope and a prayer."
- Marketing companies reached out to him nonstop, and each one promised something.
- He couldn't tell if the people in their ads were telling the truth.
- He had heard of agencies that took the money, then stopped returning calls.
What happened from June to September
June: he started with us
We ran Facebook ads for DS Custom Built. Homeowners who saw them could book an appointment with him online.
First week: about 9 appointments
Leads came in almost right away. After the first week he had about 9 appointments. It kept picking up from there.
About four months: 13 jobs sold
He went to about 43 in-home appointments. Not every one sold, and he didn't expect them to. He sold 13 jobs and put the total at close to $300,000.
September: booked to the end of December
He still had about $250,000 more in estimates out. His work was booked to the very end of December.
What didn't work at first
Not every booking was a good one. Jesse said some tire kickers still slipped through. They only wanted a price.
He thought he knew why. Homeowners could book on their own, straight from the website or the Facebook ad.
So he changed one thing. He called each homeowner first for a phone consultation. Only then did he decide whether to make the drive.
People can fill out anything online, he said. On the phone, you can tell what they really want. Some are ready to spend the money. Others only want to know the price.
The call also gave homeowners confidence that he would show up. He went to fewer appointments that went nowhere, and he sold more. Read more in our guide on how to qualify a lead.
In Jesse's words, calling first "completely changed the whole way I sell projects."
Will homeowners trust a Facebook ad?
Some homeowners wonder if a Facebook ad is even real. Jesse said three things helped them trust him. They were his reputation, the comments under his ads and his Google reviews.
A couple of homeowners hired him before he had even given them a price.
Word of mouth helped too. People who saw his finished jobs started calling him. In September the ads were still bringing in leads, and these calls came on top. Here is how Facebook ads for contractors work.
What Jesse would tell a skeptical contractor
We asked Jesse what he would say to a contractor who is still skeptical. He said he was in the same boat once.
He said he no longer worried about where the next job would come from. His worry now was keeping up with the work.
"You can call me and speak to me personally."
Jesse Sawyer
DS Custom Built, Eugene, OR
Look him up yourself
We don't post client phone numbers on this site. A phone number is easy to fake. Look up DS Custom Built in Eugene, Oregon, and ask Jesse about us.
He told us we were easy to reach. Problems got fixed fast, and he never had to wait weeks for an answer. By September he had recommended us to two other people.
In September, he said he had to pump the brakes a little to catch up.
Questions about Jesse's results
What were the homeowners like?
Jesse had one really bad client. He said the rest were great to work with. Most were normal people who wanted a kitchen or other work done in their house.
Who called the homeowners, Jesse or you?
Jesse did. We don't call homeowners. Partway through, he started calling each one before he drove out.
Will I get the same results?
Results are not a promise. Yours depend on your market, your prices and how you sell. These were Jesse's results, in his own area.
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